Manufacture of seals and the like



June 24, 1941. C 5, PRICE 2,247,252

MANUFACTURE OF SEALS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 11, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 K g 5 INVENTOR.

flwkm ATTORNEY.

June 24, 1941. c, PRICE; 2,247,252

MANUFACTURE OF SEALS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 11, 19157 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORN E Y.

June 24, 1941. PRICE 2,247,252

MANUFACTURE OF SEALS AND THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 11, 1957 I we III- a1 a: 779M120 wsrorra/a J54;

ATTORNEY.

Patented June 24, 1941 UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE MANUFACTURE OF SEALS AND THE LIKE Charles S. Price, Hollis, N. Y.

Application August 11, 1937, Serial No. 158,512

23 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of seals, emblems, letters, numbers, and the like from sheet material, such as paper, cardboard, leather, cloth, thin metal, or foil, and more particularly to the manufacture of such with plain or gummed backs, temporarily or permanently associated with backing or supporting cards, for holding such articles in storage positions for treatment and/ or removal as desired.

Seals and similar articles formed of sheet material, such as paper and thin metal, are commonly manufactured and sold loose or separated from one another in packages. On account of this practice they are not as well displayed or as conveniently used as if they were held on cards in definite positions.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to manufacture seals, emblems, letters, numbers, and the like from sheet material such as paper, cardboard, leather, cloth, foil, or the like While disposed in definite positions with respect to one another, so that the user can detach one or more of such articles from the backing card when desired.

Another object of my invention is the treatment of the surface of cardboard or the like, so that it will temporarily support seals or the like articles, with either plain or gummed backs, and printing, embossing, and cutting such seals from the desired material in place, with a corresponding indentation of said cardboard, so that said articles are simultaneously pasted on the cardboard, where they are temporarily stored until it is desired to remove and use the same.

A further object of my invention is the manufacture of seals or other articles having gummed backs, in place on a backing card to which they temporarily adhere, so that they may be removed when desired for use, or further treatment may be applied thereto while held in position.

Other objects and advantages of the invention relating to the particular arrangement and construction of the various parts will become apparent as the description proceeds.

Referring to the drawings illustrating my invention,

Fig. 1 is a face view of a card, the surface of which has been rendered tacky and upon which are held a number of seals.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view, on the line II--II of Fig. 1, in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a view corresponding to Fig. 1 shOWing another embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view, on the line IVIV of Fig. 1, in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a view of a card with letters permanently attached to a cardboard backing to make a sign.

Fig. 6 is an edge view, on the line VI-VI of Fig. 5, in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view of a machine for manufacturing articles embodying my invention.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the strips of sheet material as they are going through the machine, illustrating the order in which the operations are performed on said material.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a piece of cardboard, with seals temporarily secured thereon and in the process of being sprayed.

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view of a modified form of my machine for making articles embodying the invention.

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic view of a further modified form of the machine of my invention.

Fig. 12 is a plan view of portions of the strip, or series, of cards and seal-forming material as they go through the machine of Fig. 11.

Referring to the drawings in detail and first considering the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a sheet of cardboard or fibrous material l, on the surface of which has been printed, or applied by means of a roller, a number of parallel lines 2 of gutta-percha or the like adhesive material, preferably spaced a short distance apart, as for example, about one-half inch. These lines are desirably produced by passing cardboard, which is to form a backing or mounting for seals, through a coating machine which transfers thin lines of gutta-percha solution to the face of the cardboard backing by means of spaced rollers or disks, which rotate in contact with the surface of the cardboard backing, and have their lower portions immersed in the gutta-percha solution.

On this backing are a set of seals 3, said seals being temporarily or, weakly held in place by the tacky surfacing produced by the guttapercha lines. The cardboard backing is desirably printed to designate the articles held thereon, as for example, in the present instance, the backing may be printed 12 Embossed Seals 5. A Cellophane envelope desirably encloses one or more of the cards I while on sale.

The seals merely slightly adhere to the surface of the cardboard, but on account of the method of manufacture they are printed, embossed, and

cut in place on said cardboard, so that the area under each seal is defined 'by an indentation in the cardboard, or desirably embossed to correspend with the embossing of the seal, if embossed seals are supported thereon.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 there is shown a similar piece of cardboard I, which, however, has its surface uniformly treated to render it tacky, rather than being lined as in the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2. On this surface there are a series of characters 3 which, in the present embodiment, are represented as paper numerals running from 1 to 9 and including zeros, said numerals having been cut out in place by correspondingly shaped dies, the tacky surface of the cardboard, which is desirably of a color contrasting with that of the numerals, holding said numerals in place while the scrap or background for the numerals is stripped off.

In the embodment of Figs. 5 and 6 there is a sign produced by cutting out letters 2 in place on a cardboard backing l the only difference between the method of attachment of the letters to the backing in the present instance, from that of the preceding embodiments, is that in this instance I employ an adhesive of any desired character which holds the letters permanently in place for the manufacture of the sign.

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate, respectively, a machine it for practicing one phase of my invention, and strips of material in the process of passing through the machine. The reference character it represents diagrammatically an embossing press to be used in the production of the complete package or sheet of the character illustrated in Fig. 1. A roll of cardboard backing It serves to supply a continuous strip of cardboard to the machine beneath paper or other thinner material fed from a roll i 3 of such. The upper face of the cardboard i8 is preferably treated. by desired means, such as rollers, not illustrated, to provide lines or areas 2 of gutta-percha, or similar adhesive material, like the lines 2 of the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2, or render it tacky over its entire area, like the cardboard i of Figs. 3 and 4. Alternatively, the lower face of the material 15 may be treated like, and instead of, the upper face of the cardboard or backing material I8, to provide for temporary adherence with the cardboard, if said lower face is not coated with remoistening glue. The lower face of the relatively thin material I5 may be coated with remoistening glue and allowed to dry be fore rolling, if gum-backed articles are to be made.

The face printing die, or set of dies H, applies the first color to the surface of the material i5 received from the roll l3. The second die, or set of dies l6, completes the printing of and desirably embosses the seals i7, and may also serve to cut them out in place and simultaneously indent the cardboard l-8' therebeneath. Ink rollers l9 and 20 respectively, supplied with the desired colors from fountains 2| and 22, serve the dies I 4 and I6, respectively, and are horizontally automatically movable beneath said dies, as indicated by the arrows, during the periods while the dies are in the elevated positions illustrated, between the automatic printing reciprocations thereof.

The scrap 23 is then stripped off to be wound over a roller 24 and upon a drum 25, leaving the seals H in place on the cardboard backing H! which is still in the form of a continuous strip. The cardboard with the seals in place thereon is then cut to size, as by suitable die 26, and the individual sheets of seals removed in a desired manner, for example, as shown in the drawings, and collected in a pile 2'! beneath the cutting support 28, so that the final units l' consist simply of the seals I! with the cardboard backings I8 cut to a desired size. The cardboard scrap 29 desirably passes on and is wound up around a drum 3!]. i

A further and highly desirable advantage of this process is that its use permits the production of what are designated as sprayed labels from light material and with the utmost economy. In the production of such labels it is necessary that the material remain perfectly flat during the spraying operation, as otherwise the material used in the spray will not settle out satisfactorily but will become lumpy and unsightly. Using this process a sheet I of seals 3 as shown in Fig. 9, may be sprayed, that is, the seals 3 may be sprayed'in groups, as by a gun 3| while still attached to the cardboard backing I and after drying may be removed if desired, or sold in sheets still retained in contact with the backmg.

Although Fig. 9 shows the spraying of a card i of seals 3 after the scrap from the seal-forming material has been removed, it will be understood that, if desired, 1' may omit the removal of the scrap 23 of the seal-forming material 25, at the point indicated in Figs. '7 and 8, and manufacture as illustrated in Fig. 10, die-cutting the cardboard i8 and seal-forming material i5 simultaneously, as by the die 26, leaving the cards i with both seals H and scrap 23', which is cut out by the die 26, in place. The seals i! may then'be sprayed, as in Fig. 9 except that the scrap 23 around them acts as a shield protecting the card i therebeneath from spray. The scrap 23 may then be readily removed when desired. The rest of the'mechanism ill may act as described in connection with Figs. 7 and 8, except that the drum 3!) may roll up the scrap 23 exterior of the part out out by the die 26, with the scrap 29 of the cardboard i8, as illustrated or said scrap 23' may be taken care of separately, as desired. I

The same method may also be used in making cards or signs in which the seals or characters are permanently aflixed, as in Fig. 5, for example, or the product of the means illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12 now to be described. That is, the scrap of the seal-forming material may be left in place until after the holding cards are cut out therewith andlthe seals or characters sprayed or otherwise treated, if desired. Inthis way the spray is confined to the seal or part intended to be sprayed, and prevented from getting on the card used to display the seal or other'ornament or ornaments. After spraying, the scrap from the seal-forming material, which was severed from the seals or the like during the embossing and/or printing operation, may be stripped ofi, leaving the clean card or cardboard backing exposed.

Referring now to the embodiment of my. invention illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12, there are respectively illustrated a portion of a. machine it, corresponding generally with the machine ll! of Fig. 7, and strips of material in the process of passing through said machine. In the present instance, however, I have in addition to the printing, embossing, and die cutting means of Fig. 7, means 3i for applying glue or other adhesive to, or remoistening a glued portion 32 of, a greeting card 33 or the like, so that seals H can be printed, embossed, permanently glued in place on the cards, and cut from a roll of thinner material 35, while the cards and seal-forming material are passing through the machine.

The cards 33 may be supplied in a continuous strip of card-forming material 36, from a roll, like the roll l2 of Fig. '7 and cut to size by the die 26, as illustrated, after the scrap 3'1 of the sealmaking material 35 has been removed as on a drum 25. Or the cards 33 may be printed and complete, except for the seals il and fed to the machine 90 in any desired manner, as by being placed in pockets on a conveyor belt, which might also be represented by the character 36, and pass through the machine to have the seals il attached thereto as previously described.

As an alternative, I may employ seal-forming material 35, in the machine illustrated in Fig. 11, of a width corresponding with that of the cardforming material, like the material i5 and i5 of Figs. 7 and 10 respectively (thereby permitting the formation of larger or more seals for decorating the cards 33), and the scrap cut from said material may pass under the die 26, instead of being removed before it reaches it, so that scrap portions, the size of the cards out from the material 36, are temporarily left in place around the formed seals to protect the cards while the seals are sprayed or otherwise treated.

in view of the foregoing disclosure, it will be seen that I have devised a new kind of seal sheet, and a new method of manufacturing metal or paper seals and letters wherein such articles are printed, embossed, and die cut out against a fiber or cardboard back which is simultaneously indented. The back is supplied with a pressure adhesive, either coated over the entire surface, or applied to separated areas or bands extending over the seal holding surface. An embossing press, preferably of the continuous type now used to manufacture embossed seals, is desirably employed. The cardboard backing and the seal material are run through the press together, in which operation individual seals are die cut out against the backing and may, during the operation, be printed in one or more colors.

The scrap or waste material between the seals is desirably removed during the operation, but may be left in place until after spraying or other operations, or for any purpose, as for protection of the backing, the seals themselves being retained in place on the backing, by reason of the tacky surface and the adhesion formed by the pressure applied between the seal and the face of the backing.

I further propose to die cut simultaneously the cardboard backing into individual blocks upon which the seals have been applied, leaving the seals tacked or weakly held upon the surface of the backing, from which they may be easily removed as the adhesive between the seals and the cardboard is just sufiicient to retain them in place, but not interfere with their easy removal when required.

Among the advantages of my invention, may be mentioned, first; through the use of a contrasting color for the background, I obtain a pleasing appearance of the seal on the background, causing each seal to stand out in attractive contrast; second, the seals are individually die cut, so that they may be readily used and, at the same time, by reason of their being retained in place, will at all times be clearly visible and not mixed up, as in the case where individual loose seals are placed in a Cellophane envelope or the like.

As an alternative, I may substitute a permanent type of adhesive for the less permanent or tacky adhesive suggested, and emboss and attach seals to cards, otherwise complete, in a permanent manner, the cards being supplied in continuous rolls or in pockets in a conveyor belt. The scrap from the seal-forming material may be left in place for spraying or other operations, as suggested in connection with cards with seals temporarily held thereon.

Although preferred embodiments of my invention have been disclosed, it will be understood that modifications may be made within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of making articles of sheet material comprising applying a sheet of material over another sheet of material, one of the contacting surfaces of the sheets having previously been treated so as to insure a slight degree of adherence therebetween, cutting said articles from the first mentioned sheet of material while correspondingly indenting, but not cutting through, the other sheet of material to cause said articles to slightly adhere to said other sheet, and removing the scrap portion of the first mentioned material, leaving said articles in storage positions adapted for removal and use as desired.

2. The method of making articles of sheet material comprising treating a sheet of relatively thick fibrous material to provide at least portions of the surface thereof with pressure adhesive areas, applying a sheet of thinner material over said treated surface, cutting said articles from said thinner sheet of material and correspondingly indenting, but not cutting through, the thicker sheet of material, to cause the articles to slightly adhere to said pressure areas, and removing the scrap portion of the thinner material, leaving said articles in storage positions adapted for removal and use as desired.

3. The method of making articles of sheet material comprising taking a sheet of relatively thick fibrous material, applying a tacky coating to one surface of said sheet, applying a sheet of thinner material over said coated surface, cutting said articles from the thinner sheet of material, while correspondingly indenting, but not cutting through, the thicker sheet of material to cause said articles to slightly adhere to said tacky surface, and removing the scrap portion of the thinner material, leaving said article in storage positions adapted for removal and use as desired.

4. The method of making seals, emblems, letters, numbers, and like articles, comprising treating a sheet of relatively thick fibrous material to provide tacky areas, applying a sheet of thinner material over said tacky areas, forming such seals, emblems, letters, numbers, or the like, from said thinner sheet of material, and correspondingly forming, but not cutting through, the thicker sheet of material, to cause said articles to slightly adhere to said thicker sheet, and removing the scrap portion of the thinner material, leaving said articles in storage positions adapted for removal and use as desired.

5. The method of making articles of sheet material comprising applying a sheet of mateously been treated soas to insure a slight degree of adherence therebetween, cutting said articles from the first mentioned sheet of material while correspondingly indenting, but not cutting through, the other sheet of material to cause said articles to slightly adhere to said other sheet, leaving said articles in storage positions adapted for removal and use as desired and the scrap in place therearound to protect the other material.

6. The method of making articles of sheet material comprising treating a sheet of relatively thick fibrous material to provide at least portions of the surface thereof with pressure adhesive areas, applying a sheet of thinner material over said treated surface, cutting said articles from said thinner sheet of material and correspondingly indenting, but not cutting through, the thicker sheet of material, to cause the articles to slightly adhere to said pressure areas, leaving said articles in storage positions adapted for removal and use as desired and the scrap in place therearound to protect the relatively thick material during treatment of the articles.

7. The method of making articles of sheet material comprising taking a sheet of relatively thick fibrous material, applying a tacky coating to 7 one surface of said sheet, applying a sheet of thinner material over said coated surface, cutting said articles from the thinner sheet of material, while correspondingly indenting, but. not cutting through, the thicker sheet of material to cause said ar icles to s y adhere to said tacky surface, leaving said articles in storage positions adapted for removal and use as desired and the scrap in place therearound to protect the relatively thick material during treatment of the articles.

8. The method of making seals, emblems, letters, numbers, and like articles, comprising treating a sheet of relatively thick fibrous material to provide tacky areas, applying a sheet of thinner material over said tacky areas, forming such seals, emblems, letters, numbers, or the like, from said thinner sheet of material, or correspondingly forming, but not cutting through, the thicker sheet of material, to cause said articles to slightly adhere to said thicker sheet, leaving said articles in storage positions adapted for removal and use as desired and the scrap in place therearound to protect the relatively thick material during treatment of the articles.

9. The method of making articles such as greeting cards comprising applying adhesive to portions of card-forming material, applying a sheet of seal-forming material thereover, and printing, forming characters or seals and pressing them in attached positions over said adhesive-coated portions of said card-forming mate'- rial to decorate said card-forming material.

10. A sheet of cardboard or other fibrous ma terial with spaced areas of tacky surface, holding articles spanning the distance between a plurality of said areas, weakly in place, so that they may be treated or removed for use as desired.

11. A sheet of cardboard or the like, a surface of which is treated with a pressure adhesive, such as gutta-percha, and articles formed of sheet material and with gummed back surfaces weakly adhering to said first-mentioned sheet on said treated surface.

12. A sheet of cardboard, a surface of which is treated along spaced lines to render it tacky,

and a set of seals, emblems, letters, numbers or the like, spanning a plurality of said lines and weakly adhering to said sheet on said treated surface, said surface being of a collor contrasting with said articles.

13. A board of fibrous material with an outer tacky surface, and a. set of seals, or other articles of sheet material, printed, embossed, placed weakly in storage position on said surface for use as desired.

14. A sheet of cardboard or the like, a. surface of which is treated with an adhesive which stays tacky, and an article or articles formed of sheet material, with backs covered with remoistening glue, and weakly adhering to said surface, with the scrap severed from said article or articles remaining in place therearound, for temporarily protecting the latter.

15. A board of fibrous material, having its outer surface rendered tacky, and a set of seals, or other articles of sheet material, printed, embossed, cut in place thereon, with the scrap left in place, and weakly held in storage position for use as desired.

16. A machine for manufacturing sheets of characters, or like articles or seals, comprising means for feeding sheet fibrous material to said machine, means for feeding thin sheet material to said machine on top of said fibrous material, means for die cutting said characters from said thin material, said cutting operation completely severing the characters from the scrap and indenting the sheet fibrous material background therearound, but not cutting through said background. I

17. A machine for manufacturing sheets of characters, or like articles or seals, comprising means for feeding cardboard, a surface of which has been treated to render it tacky, to said machine, means for feeding relatively thin material to said machine on top of said cardboard, means for printing and forming said characters from said thin material, said cutting operation completely severing the characters from the scrap and indenting the cardboard background therearound, but not cutting through said cardboard, and means for cutting said cardboard to size and removing sheets of cardboard with characters temporarily attached thereto by said tacky coating.

18. A machine for manufacturing sheets of characters, or like articles or seals, comprising means for feeding cardboard to said machine, means for feeding relatively thin material to said machine on top of said cardboard, means for applying adhesive to portions of said cardboard and printing, embossing, and die cutting said characters from said thin material, and pressing them on the adhesive-coated portions of said cardboard, said cutting operation completely severing the characters from the scrap and indenting the cardboard background therearound, but not cutting through said cardboard, and means for cutting said cardboard to size from said roll and removing sheets of cardboard with characters attached thereto by said adhesive.

19. The method of making seals and similar articles comprising applying a sheet of articleforming material upon a sheet of fibrous material, the contacting or lower surface of the articleforming sheet being coated with a tacky adhesive, so as to insure only temporary adhesion therebetween, cutting said articles from said first-mentioned sheet of material, leaving said other sheet uncut, with the articles in storage positions adhering slightly, by reason of the tacky adhesive, thereto, whereby said articles may be removed when desired from said other sheet and stuck in other desired positions.

20. The method of making seals and similar articles comprising coating one side of a sheet of article-forming material with remoistening glue, allowing said sheet to dry, applying said glue-coated sheet over a sheet of fibrous material, the contacting surface of the sheet of fibrous material being coated with a tacky adhesive, so as to insure only temporary adhesion therebetween, cutting said articles from said firstmentioned sheet of material, leaving said other sheet uncut, with the articles in storage positions adhering slightly by reason of the tacky adhesive, thereto, whereby said articles may be removed when desired from said other sheet and stuck in other desired positions.

21. A sheet of fibrous material, to one surface of which has been applied an adhesive which stays tacky, said sheet holding articles, such as seals or the like, the engaging surfaces of which have been coated with remoistening adhesive, weakly in place by said tacky adhesive, so that they may be used, as desired, for attachment to something else by means of their remoistening adhesive.

22. A machine for manufacturing sheets of characters or the like, comprising means for feeding sheet fibrous material to said machine, means for treating a surface of said material to render it tacky, means for coating one side of a sheet of article-forming material with remoistening glue and drying, means for feeding said article-forming material to said machine with its coated surface engaging the tacky surface of said fibrous material, means for printing and forming characters from said glue-coated material, said forming operation severing said characters from, but not cutting through said treated material, so that the characters are temporarily attached thereto by the tacky surface.

23. The method of making articles of sheet material comprising ruling one surface of a sheet of material with gutta-percha to render said surface tacky, applying another sheet of material against said tacky surface, cutting articles from one of said sheets while correspondingly indenting but not cutting through the other sheet of material, to cause said articles to slightly adhere to said other sheet, leaving them in storage positions, thereon, adapted forremoval and use as desired.

CHARLES 8. PRICE. 

